Several family members worked for fire departments. When Jeffries was 11 years old, he used to hang out at a fire station three blocks from his Lakeland Village home.

When firefighters went out on calls, he answered the station's telephone.

"I always knew I was going to be a firefighter," Jeffries said in a recent interview.

Jeffries, 51, is running for a four-year seat on the
Riverside County Board of Supervisors
representing the county's
1st District
, which extends from Riverside to Southwest County, taking in the communities of Wildomar, Lake Elsinore, Canyon Lake, Lakeland Village and Meadowbrook. The job pays $143,031 a year.

Politics was the last thing Jeffries thought he would get into.

"I was the guy who failed drama in high school because I wouldn't get up and speak before a group of people," Jeffries said.

But here he is a Sacramento lawmaker, nearing the end of a six-year stint in the state Assembly. And now Jeffries is gunning for a seat on the county board
.

He is one of two challengers trying to knock out five-term
Supervisor Bob Buster
, who represents a district that is half in Southwest County and half in the city of Riverside. The other challenger in the
1st District
race is retired California Highway Patrol Lt.
Mike Soubirous
of Riverside.

If any one candidate grabs more than 50 percent of the vote in the June 5 primary, he will win the seat. If not, the top two finishers will square off in November

To date, Buster has been in a runoff only once. That was during his inaugural run for supervisor in 1992.

Jeffries is widely considered by political observers to be the greater threat. And Buster is paying more attention to Jeffries than to Soubirous.

Buster sued recently to prevent Jeffries from describing himself as a "small business owner" on the ballot.

Suggesting Jeffries has an identity crisis, Buster contended it was misleading ---- and illegal ---- for Jeffries not to say he is an Assemblyman or legislator. However, a Riverside Superior Court judge
let stand
the reference to business owner.

"I have been for 30 years a small businessman. That's just who I am," Jeffries said. "When I talk to people, I don't introduce myself as an assemblyman."

Buster claimed victory because the judge did ask Jeffries to reword a sentence about opposing taxes in his candidate statement. Jeffries claimed victory, too, saying the wording was something he had offered earlier as a compromise to Buster, only to have it rejected.

Jeffries suggests his businessman mentality is an indicator of the kind of supervisor he would be.

Jeffries also said he will work to cut supervisors'
base salary
almost in half, to around $75,000.

"I don't want pay at the level they are offering," he said. "I don't want to insult the average taxpayer by making incredibly more than they are making."

And he plans to introduce an initiative to set term limits for board members. No one, he said, should serve more than three terms.

Buster countered that, because of the job's long learning curve, term limits would weaken the board and make it more vulnerable to the influence of powerful unions that represent county employees.

When it comes to salary, Buster suggested Jeffries is being hypocritical because he didn't refuse the Assembly salary of $95,291.

Benefits aside, Jeffries said he agrees with the board's February decision to reject a quarry south of Temecula.

"In my opinion, you cannot overcome the (American Indian) sacred site issue," he said. "That should have ended the discussion."

Jeffries said the site is too close to a large population that was full of anxiety about the project. Under no circumstances, he said, would he support a revised application.

"You just can't go there," he said.

On another Southwest County issue, Jeffries said he does not have a position on Supervisor Jeff Stone's Wine Country Community Plan.

Expected to reach the board in August or September, the plan would set the stage for a major Wine Country expansion that could triple the number of wineries to more than 100, and usher in many hotels and restaurants.

Jeffries said he likes the idea of turning Wine Country into a destination resort. But he said he is also sensitive to concerns of nearby homeowners about noise and the potential loss of their rural ambiance.

"You've got to respect private-property rights, and that cuts both ways," he said.

When it comes to the county budget, Jeffries isn't sure how he would balance the books. But Jeffries said one thing's certain: He would not reduce public safety service levels.

"I don't think you put front-line police officers and firefighters on the chopping block," he said. "I'm not going to close fire stations."

Yes, other departments have borne the brunt of cuts in recent years, Jeffries said, and more could be devastating.

"But they are not saving lives," he said.

Probably the biggest challenge facing Riverside County is finding a way to create jobs, Jeffries said, citing the county's 12.5 percent unemployment rate. Although state policy has a major impact on the business climate, he said, the county can do a lot to help by cutting red tape.

"We've got to have a top-to-bottom cultural change about opening businesses," he said.

When it came to the bottom line, Jeffries reported in March having
$227,093
cash on hand. That put him in the middle of the pack in the race to build the biggest war chest, between Buster and Soubirous.

Significant contributions came from the county attorneys union, a prominent Riverside businessman, American Indian tribes, a railroad, contractors and others.

Between March and early May, Jeffries reported receiving at least $3,000 in additional contributions, in electronic reports filed with the registrar of voters.